Systems and computerized methods for optimizing item retrieval allocation efficiencies

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure provides a computerized method for assigning items to pickers including: determining a priority of an ordered item; inserting the item into an ordered data structure based on the priority of the item; iteratively, for items in the ordered data structure: determining an item physical location corresponding to a first unassigned item in the ordered data structure; determining a plurality of picker physical locations corresponding to locations of user devices of pickers; calculating a plurality of distances between the item physical location and picker physical locations among the plurality of picker physical locations; assigning the first unassigned item by: identifying a closest picker corresponding to a shortest distance of the plurality of distances; selecting the identified picker; correlating the first unassigned item with the selected picker in a data structure; and sending information of the item and physical location to the user device of the picker.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to computerized systems andmethods for computer-determined item allocation. In particular,embodiments of the present disclosure relate to inventive andunconventional systems and methods utilized for ensuring efficientallocation of items to item pickers, allowing quicker assignments,faster shipment to customers, and reduced shipment cost.

BACKGROUND

Order fulfillment is a complex endeavor for businesses that providetangible goods to customers, requiring sophisticated computer algorithmsto quickly determine highly efficient order fulfillment operations. Thiscomplexity grows substantially for businesses that provide a largevariety of goods, process a high volume of orders, or store items acrossa large physical area, including a single large warehouse, multiplewarehouses, or even multiple small facilities distributed in a dispersedgeographic area. This complexity greatly increases order fulfillmentcosts as businesses must compensate employees for time spent picking andpreparing items for delivery. In addition, as the time required for anitem picker to transit to an item grows, a business may be unable tofulfill as many orders and may lose customers to competitors offeringsimilar products with a shorter delivery time, thus decreasing sales.Additionally, the business may be forced to hire additional employees,thereby increasing cost. While traditional computerized methods are ableto plan some order fulfillment operations, the increased complexity ofmodern and/or high volume order fulfillment operations requires advancedtechnology to plan operations with high speed and accuracy, thusavoiding computing inefficiencies that negate efficiencies gained byvolume.

Additionally, businesses have implemented order fulfillment methodsdedicated to reducing shipping costs. For example, some businessesprefer to combine many items of an order in a single shipment in orderto simplify delivery from a warehouse to a customer and reduce shipmentand packaging costs. However, this method further increases complexityof picking operations because the business cannot ship items of an orderuntil all the items are located and packaged. In many cases, due toalgorithm inefficiencies, businesses must assign a single picker toitems of a single order in anticipation of packing the items together,resulting in the picker bypassing other items from other orders whiletransiting. For example, while walking between items A and B for order1, a picker may pass item C for order 2. Thus, under traditionalmethods, the picker would lose an opportunity to speed shipment of order2. However, traditional algorithms and systems cannot plan complex, highvolume picking operations quickly enough to solve these problems.Rather, they provide pickers with simple, unoptimized picking lists.

An alternative picking operation could resolve this missed opportunityproblem by ensuring that a picker is assigned any nearby items for anyshipment. This method, referred to as singleton shipping, decreases picktime and allows quicker item delivery. The singleton method alsomaximizes picker efficiency by reducing transit time, further reducingcosts. However, although singleton shipping allows for faster deliveryand reduced costs, efficient computational algorithms with speeds andaccuracy necessary to implement singleton shipping have beennonexistent. Therefore, traditional methods, which simply relay a listof items of an order to a picker for retrieval so that the items may bepackaged together, persist despite inefficiency and cost.

Accordingly, there is a need for improved methods and systems forcomputational algorithms to efficiently implement singleton shippingmethods by assigning items to pickers while minimizing picking time.With these systems and methods, picking operation efficiency mayincrease, while delivery time decreases, thereby reducing overallbusiness costs and improving customer satisfaction.

SUMMARY

One aspect of the present disclosure is directed to a computerizedsystem for assigning items to pickers, comprising: at least oneprocessor; and at least one non transitory storage medium comprisinginstructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, causethe at least one processor to perform steps comprising: receiving anindication of a purchase of an item; determining a priority of the item;inserting the item into a position of an ordered data structure based onthe priority of the item; iteratively, for items in the ordered datastructure: determining an item physical location corresponding to afirst unassigned item in the ordered data structure; determining aplurality of picker physical locations corresponding to locations ofuser devices of pickers; calculating a plurality of distances betweenthe item physical location and picker physical locations among theplurality of picker physical locations; assigning the first unassigneditem by: identifying a closest picker corresponding to a shortestdistance of the plurality of distances; selecting the identified picker;correlating the first unassigned item with the selected picker in a datastructure; sending information including an identifier of the item and aphysical location of the item to the user device of the selected pickerfor display.

Another aspect of the present disclosure is directed to acomputer-implemented method for assigning items to pickers, comprising:receiving an indication of a purchase of an item; determining a priorityof the item; inserting the item into a position of an ordered datastructure based on the priority of the item; iteratively, for items inthe ordered data structure: determining an item physical locationcorresponding to a first unassigned item in the ordered data structure;determining a plurality of picker physical locations corresponding tolocations of user devices of pickers; calculating a plurality ofdistances between the item physical location and picker physicallocations among the plurality of picker physical locations; assigningthe first unassigned item by: identifying a closest picker correspondingto a shortest distance of the plurality of distances; selecting theidentified picker; correlating the first unassigned item with theselected picker in a data structure; sending information including anidentifier of the item and a physical location of the item to the userdevice of the selected picker for display.

Yet another aspect of the present disclosure is directed to acomputer-implemented method for assigning items to pickers, comprising:receiving an indication of a purchase of an item; determining a priorityof the item; inserting the item into a position of an ordered datastructure of items based on the priority of the item; iteratively, foritems in the ordered data structure: determining an item physicallocation corresponding to a first unassigned item in the ordered datastructure; determining a plurality of picker physical locationscorresponding to locations of user devices of pickers; calculating aplurality of distances between the item physical location and pickerphysical locations among the plurality of picker physical locations;calculating a plurality of routes, each route being calculated for eachpicker physical location within a distance threshold of the itemphysical location, and calculated to avoid obstacles; assigning thefirst unassigned item by: identifying a closest picker corresponding toa shortest route of the plurality of routes; determining that a quantityof items in an item queue of the closest picker exceeds a threshold;identifying a second closest picker corresponding to a second shortestdistance of the plurality of distances; inserting the first unassigneditem into an item queue of the second closest picker; sendinginformation including an identifier of the item and a physical locationof the item to the user device of the second closest picker for display.

Other systems, methods, and computer-readable media are also discussedherein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a schematic block diagram illustrating an exemplaryembodiment of a network comprising computerized systems forcommunications enabling shipping, transportation, and logisticsoperations, consistent with the disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 1B depicts a sample Search Result Page (SRP) that includes one ormore search results satisfying a search request along with interactiveuser interface elements, consistent with the disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 1C depicts a sample Single Display Page (SDP) that includes aproduct and information about the product along with interactive userinterface elements, consistent with the disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 1D depicts a sample Cart page that includes items in a virtualshopping cart along with interactive user interface elements, consistentwith the disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 1E depicts a sample Order page that includes items from the virtualshopping cart along with information regarding purchase and shipping,along with interactive user interface elements, consistent with thedisclosed embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic illustration of an exemplary fulfillment centerconfigured to utilize disclosed computerized systems, consistent withthe disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary embodiment of a methodfor assigning items to pickers, consistent with the disclosedembodiments.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary embodiment of a methodfor assigning items to pickers based on picker location and existingassignments, consistent with the disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 5A is a diagrammatic illustration of an initial assignment of itemsto corresponding pickers, consistent with the disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 5B is a diagrammatic illustration of a revised assignment of itemsto corresponding pickers, consistent with the disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 6A is a diagrammatic illustration of item and picker locations,consistent with the disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 6B is a diagrammatic illustration of an initial picker assignment,consistent with the disclosed embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings.Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawingsand the following description to refer to the same or similar parts.While several illustrative embodiments are described herein,modifications, adaptations and other implementations are possible. Forexample, substitutions, additions, or modifications may be made to thecomponents and steps illustrated in the drawings, and the illustrativemethods described herein may be modified by substituting, reordering,removing, or adding steps to the disclosed methods. Accordingly, thefollowing detailed description is not limited to the disclosedembodiments and examples. Instead, the proper scope of the invention isdefined by the appended claims.

Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to systems andmethods configured for intelligent systems for optimizing packageacquisition efficiencies.

Referring to FIG. 1A, a schematic block diagram 100 illustrating anexemplary embodiment of a system comprising computerized systems forcommunications enabling shipping, transportation, and logisticsoperations is shown. As illustrated in FIG. 1A, system 100 may include avariety of systems, each of which may be connected to one another viaone or more networks. The systems may also be connected to one anothervia a direct connection, for example, using a cable. The depictedsystems include a shipment authority technology (SAT) system 101, anexternal front end system 103, an internal front end system 105, atransportation system 107, mobile devices 107A, 107B, and 107C, sellerportal 109, shipment and order tracking (SOT) system 111, fulfillmentoptimization (FO) system 113, fulfillment messaging gateway (FMG) 115,supply chain management (SCM) system 117, warehouse management system119, mobile devices 119A, 119B, and 119C (depicted as being inside offulfillment center (FC) 200), 3rd party fulfillment systems 121A, 121B,and 121C, fulfillment center authorization system (FC Auth) 123, andlabor management system (LMS) 125.

SAT system 101, in some embodiments, may be implemented as a computersystem that monitors order status and delivery status. For example, SATsystem 101 may determine whether an order is past its Promised DeliveryDate (PDD) and may take appropriate action, including initiating a neworder, reshipping the items in the non-delivered order, canceling thenon-delivered order, initiating contact with the ordering customer, orthe like. SAT system 101 may also monitor other data, including output(such as a number of packages shipped during a particular time period)and input (such as the number of empty cardboard boxes received for usein shipping). SAT system 101 may also act as a gateway between differentdevices in system 100, enabling communication (e.g., usingstore-and-forward or other techniques) between devices such as externalfront end system 103 and FO system 113.

External front end system 103, in some embodiments, may be implementedas a computer system that enables external users to interact with one ormore systems in system 100. For example, in embodiments where system 100enables the presentation of systems to enable users to place an orderfor an item, external front end system 103 may be implemented as a webserver that receives search requests, presents item pages, and solicitspayment information. For example, external front end system 103 may beimplemented as a computer or computers running software such as theApache HTTP Server, Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS),NGINX, or the like. In other embodiments, external front end system 103may run custom web server software designed to receive and processrequests from external devices (e.g., mobile device 102A or computer102B), acquire information from databases and other data stores based onthose requests, and provide responses to the received requests based onacquired information.

In some embodiments, external front end system 103 may include one ormore of a web caching system, a database, a search system, or a paymentsystem. In one aspect, external front end system 103 may comprise one ormore of these systems, while in another aspect, external front endsystem 103 may comprise interfaces (e.g., server-to-server,database-to-database, or other network connections) connected to one ormore of these systems.

An illustrative set of steps, illustrated by FIGS. 1B, 1C, 1D, and 1E,will help to describe some operations of external front end system 103.External front end system 103 may receive information from systems ordevices in system 100 for presentation and/or display. For example,external front end system 103 may host or provide one or more web pages,including a Search Result Page (SRP) (e.g., FIG. 1B), a Single DetailPage (SDP) (e.g., FIG. 1C), a Cart page (e.g., FIG. 1D), or an Orderpage (e.g., FIG. 1E). A user device (e.g., using mobile device 102A orcomputer 102B) may navigate to external front end system 103 and requesta search by entering information into a search box. External front endsystem 103 may request information from one or more systems in system100. For example, external front end system 103 may request informationfrom FO System 113 that satisfies the search request. External front endsystem 103 may also request and receive (from FO System 113) a PromisedDelivery Date or “PDD” for each product included in the search results.The PDD, in some embodiments, may represent an estimate of when apackage containing the product will arrive at the user's desiredlocation or a date by which the product is promised to be delivered atthe user's desired location if ordered within a particular period oftime, for example, by the end of the day (11:59 PM). (PDD is discussedfurther below with respect to FO System 113.)

External front end system 103 may prepare an SRP (e.g., FIG. 1B) basedon the information. The SRP may include information that satisfies thesearch request. For example, this may include pictures of products thatsatisfy the search request. The SRP may also include respective pricesfor each product, or information relating to enhanced delivery optionsfor each product, PDD, weight, size, offers, discounts, or the like.External front end system 103 may send the SRP to the requesting userdevice (e.g., via a network).

A user device may then select a product from the SRP, e.g., by clickingor tapping a user interface, or using another input device, to select aproduct represented on the SRP. The user device may formulate a requestfor information on the selected product and send it to external frontend system 103. In response, external front end system 103 may requestinformation related to the selected product. For example, theinformation may include additional information beyond that presented fora product on the respective SRP. This could include, for example, shelflife, country of origin, weight, size, number of items in package,handling instructions, or other information about the product. Theinformation could also include recommendations for similar products(based on, for example, big data and/or machine learning analysis ofcustomers who bought this product and at least one other product),answers to frequently asked questions, reviews from customers,manufacturer information, pictures, or the like.

External front end system 103 may prepare an SDP (Single Detail Page)(e.g., FIG. 1C) based on the received product information. The SDP mayalso include other interactive elements such as a “Buy Now” button, a“Add to Cart” button, a quantity field, a picture of the item, or thelike. The SDP may further include a list of sellers that offer theproduct. The list may be ordered based on the price each seller offerssuch that the seller that offers to sell the product at the lowest pricemay be listed at the top. The list may also be ordered based on theseller ranking such that the highest ranked seller may be listed at thetop. The seller ranking may be formulated based on multiple factors,including, for example, the seller's past track record of meeting apromised PDD. External front end system 103 may deliver the SDP to therequesting user device (e.g., via a network).

The requesting user device may receive the SDP which lists the productinformation. Upon receiving the SDP, the user device may then interactwith the SDP. For example, a user of the requesting user device mayclick or otherwise interact with a “Place in Cart” button on the SDP.This adds the product to a shopping cart associated with the user. Theuser device may transmit this request to add the product to the shoppingcart to external front end system 103.

External front end system 103 may generate a Cart page (e.g., FIG. 1D).The Cart page, in some embodiments, lists the products that the user hasadded to a virtual “shopping cart.” A user device may request the Cartpage by clicking on or otherwise interacting with an icon on the SRP,SDP, or other pages. The Cart page may, in some embodiments, list allproducts that the user has added to the shopping cart, as well asinformation about the products in the cart such as a quantity of eachproduct, a price for each product per item, a price for each productbased on an associated quantity, information regarding PDD, a deliverymethod, a shipping cost, user interface elements for modifying theproducts in the shopping cart (e.g., deletion or modification of aquantity), options for ordering other product or setting up periodicdelivery of products, options for setting up interest payments, userinterface elements for proceeding to purchase, or the like. A user at auser device may click on or otherwise interact with a user interfaceelement (e.g., a button that reads “Buy Now”) to initiate the purchaseof the product in the shopping cart. Upon doing so, the user device maytransmit this request to initiate the purchase to external front endsystem 103.

External front end system 103 may generate an Order page (e.g., FIG. 1E)in response to receiving the request to initiate a purchase. The Orderpage, in some embodiments, re-lists the items from the shopping cart andrequests input of payment and shipping information. For example, theOrder page may include a section requesting information about thepurchaser of the items in the shopping cart (e.g., name, address, e-mailaddress, phone number), information about the recipient (e.g., name,address, phone number, delivery information), shipping information(e.g., speed/method of delivery and/or pickup), payment information(e.g., credit card, bank transfer, check, stored credit), user interfaceelements to request a cash receipt (e.g., for tax purposes), or thelike. External front end system 103 may send the Order page to the userdevice.

The user device may enter information on the Order page and click orotherwise interact with a user interface element that sends theinformation to external front end system 103. From there, external frontend system 103 may send the information to different systems in system100 to enable the creation and processing of a new order with theproducts in the shopping cart.

In some embodiments, external front end system 103 may be furtherconfigured to enable sellers to transmit and receive informationrelating to orders.

Internal front end system 105, in some embodiments, may be implementedas a computer system that enables internal users (e.g., employees of anorganization that owns, operates, or leases system 100) to interact withone or more systems in system 100. For example, in embodiments wheresystem 100 enables the presentation of systems to enable users to placean order for an item, internal front end system 105 may be implementedas a web server that enables internal users to view diagnostic andstatistical information about orders, modify item information, or reviewstatistics relating to orders. For example, internal front end system105 may be implemented as a computer or computers running software suchas the Apache HTTP Server, Microsoft Internet Information Services(IIS), NGINX, or the like. In other embodiments, internal front endsystem 105 may run custom web server software designed to receive andprocess requests from systems or devices depicted in system 100 (as wellas other devices not depicted), acquire information from databases andother data stores based on those requests, and provide responses to thereceived requests based on acquired information.

In some embodiments, internal front end system 105 may include one ormore of a web caching system, a database, a search system, a paymentsystem, an analytics system, an order monitoring system, or the like. Inone aspect, internal front end system 105 may comprise one or more ofthese systems, while in another aspect, internal front end system 105may comprise interfaces (e.g., server-to-server, database-to-database,or other network connections) connected to one or more of these systems.

Transportation system 107, in some embodiments, may be implemented as acomputer system that enables communication between systems or devices insystem 100 and mobile devices 107A-107C. Transportation system 107, insome embodiments, may receive information from one or more mobiledevices 107A-107C (e.g., mobile phones, smart phones, PDAs, or thelike). For example, in some embodiments, mobile devices 107A-107C maycomprise devices operated by delivery workers. The delivery workers, whomay be permanent, temporary, or shift employees, may utilize mobiledevices 107A-107C to effect delivery of packages containing the productsordered by users. For example, to deliver a package, the delivery workermay receive a notification on a mobile device indicating which packageto deliver and where to deliver it. Upon arriving at the deliverylocation, the delivery worker may locate the package (e.g., in the backof a truck or in a crate of packages), scan or otherwise capture dataassociated with an identifier on the package (e.g., a barcode, an image,a text string, an RFID tag, or the like) using the mobile device, anddeliver the package (e.g., by leaving it at a front door, leaving itwith a security guard, handing it to the recipient, or the like). Insome embodiments, the delivery worker may capture photo(s) of thepackage and/or may obtain a signature using the mobile device. Themobile device may send information to transportation system 107including information about the delivery, including, for example, time,date, GPS location, photo(s), an identifier associated with the deliveryworker, an identifier associated with the mobile device, or the like.Transportation system 107 may store this information in a database (notpictured) for access by other systems in system 100. Transportationsystem 107 may, in some embodiments, use this information to prepare andsend tracking data to other systems indicating the location of aparticular package.

In some embodiments, certain users may use one kind of mobile device(e.g., permanent workers may use a specialized PDA with custom hardwaresuch as a barcode scanner, stylus, and other devices) while other usersmay use other kinds of mobile devices (e.g., temporary or shift workersmay utilize off-the-shelf mobile phones and/or smartphones).

In some embodiments, transportation system 107 may associate a user witheach device. For example, transportation system 107 may store anassociation between a user (represented by, e.g., a user identifier, anemployee identifier, or a phone number) and a mobile device (representedby, e.g., an International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI), anInternational Mobile Subscription Identifier (IMSI), a phone number, aUniversal Unique Identifier (UUID), or a Globally Unique Identifier(GUID)). Transportation system 107 may use this association inconjunction with data received on deliveries to analyze data stored inthe database in order to determine, among other things, a location ofthe worker, an efficiency of the worker, or a speed of the worker.

Seller portal 109, in some embodiments, may be implemented as a computersystem that enables sellers or other external entities to electronicallycommunicate with one or more systems in system 100. For example, aseller may utilize a computer system (not pictured) to upload or provideproduct information, order information, contact information, or thelike, for products that the seller wishes to sell through system 100using seller portal 109.

Shipment and order tracking system 111, in some embodiments, may beimplemented as a computer system that receives, stores, and forwardsinformation regarding the location of packages containing productsordered by customers (e.g., by a user using devices 102A-102B). In someembodiments, shipment and order tracking system 111 may request or storeinformation from web servers (not pictured) operated by shippingcompanies that deliver packages containing products ordered bycustomers.

In some embodiments, shipment and order tracking system 111 may requestand store information from systems depicted in system 100. For example,shipment and order tracking system 111 may request information fromtransportation system 107. As discussed above, transportation system 107may receive information from one or more mobile devices 107A-107C (e.g.,mobile phones, smart phones, PDAs, or the like) that are associated withone or more of a user (e.g., a delivery worker) or a vehicle (e.g., adelivery truck). In some embodiments, shipment and order tracking system111 may also request information from warehouse management system (WMS)119 to determine the location of individual products inside of afulfillment center (e.g., fulfillment center 200). Shipment and ordertracking system 111 may request data from one or more of transportationsystem 107 or WMS 119, process it, and present it to a device (e.g.,user devices 102A and 102B) upon request.

Fulfillment optimization (FO) system 113, in some embodiments, may beimplemented as a computer system that stores information for customerorders from other systems (e.g., external front end system 103 and/orshipment and order tracking system 111). FO system 113 may also storeinformation describing where particular items are held or stored. Forexample, certain items may be stored only in one fulfillment center,while certain other items may be stored in multiple fulfillment centers.In still other embodiments, certain fulfillment centers may be designedto store only a particular set of items (e.g., fresh produce or frozenproducts). FO system 113 stores this information as well as associatedinformation (e.g., quantity, size, date of receipt, expiration date,etc.).

FO system 113 may also calculate a corresponding PDD (promised deliverydate) for each product. The PDD, in some embodiments, may be based onone or more factors. For example, FO system 113 may calculate a PDD fora product based on a past demand for a product (e.g., how many timesthat product was ordered during a period of time), an expected demandfor a product (e.g., how many customers are forecast to order theproduct during an upcoming period of time), a network-wide past demandindicating how many products were ordered during a period of time, anetwork-wide expected demand indicating how many products are expectedto be ordered during an upcoming period of time, one or more counts ofthe product stored in each fulfillment center 200, which fulfillmentcenter stores each product, expected or current orders for that product,or the like.

In some embodiments, FO system 113 may determine a PDD for each producton a periodic basis (e.g., hourly) and store it in a database forretrieval or sending to other systems (e.g., external front end system103, SAT system 101, shipment and order tracking system 111). In otherembodiments, FO system 113 may receive electronic requests from one ormore systems (e.g., external front end system 103, SAT system 101,shipment and order tracking system 111) and calculate the PDD on demand.

Fulfillment messaging gateway (FMG) 115, in some embodiments, may beimplemented as a computer system that receives a request or response inone format or protocol from one or more systems in system 100, such asFO system 113, converts it to another format or protocol, and forward itin the converted format or protocol to other systems, such as WMS 119 or3^(rd) party fulfillment systems 121A, 121B, or 121C, and vice versa.

Supply chain management (SCM) system 117, in some embodiments, may beimplemented as a computer system that performs forecasting functions.For example, SCM system 117 may forecast a level of demand for aparticular product based on, for example, based on a past demand forproducts, an expected demand for a product, a network-wide past demand,a network-wide expected demand, a count products stored in eachfulfillment center 200, expected or current orders for each product, orthe like. In response to this forecasted level and the amount of eachproduct across all fulfillment centers, SCM system 117 may generate oneor more purchase orders to purchase and stock a sufficient quantity tosatisfy the forecasted demand for a particular product.

Warehouse management system (WMS) 119, in some embodiments, may beimplemented as a computer system that monitors workflow. For example,WMS 119 may receive event data from individual devices (e.g., devices107A-107C or 119A-119C) indicating discrete events. For example, WMS 119may receive event data indicating the use of one of these devices toscan a package. As discussed below with respect to fulfillment center200 and FIG. 2, during the fulfillment process, a package identifier(e.g., a barcode or RFID tag data) may be scanned or read by machines atparticular stages (e.g., automated or handheld barcode scanners, RFIDreaders, high-speed cameras, devices such as tablet 119A, mobiledevice/PDA 1198, computer 119C, or the like). WMS 119 may store eachevent indicating a scan or a read of a package identifier in acorresponding database (not pictured) along with the package identifier,a time, date, location, user identifier, or other information, and mayprovide this information to other systems (e.g., shipment and ordertracking system 111).

WMS 119, in some embodiments, may store information associating one ormore devices (e.g., devices 107A-107C or 119A-119C) with one or moreusers associated with system 100. For example, in some situations, auser (such as a part- or full-time employee) may be associated with amobile device in that the user owns the mobile device (e.g., the mobiledevice is a smartphone). In other situations, a user may be associatedwith a mobile device in that the user is temporarily in custody of themobile device (e.g., the user checked the mobile device out at the startof the day, will use it during the day, and will return it at the end ofthe day).

WMS 119, in some embodiments, may maintain a work log for each userassociated with system 100. For example, WMS 119 may store informationassociated with each employee, including any assigned processes (e.g.,unloading trucks, picking items from a pick zone, rebin wall work,packing items), a user identifier, a location (e.g., a floor or zone ina fulfillment center 200), a number of units moved through the system bythe employee (e.g., number of items picked, number of items packed), anidentifier associated with a device (e.g., devices 119A-119C), or thelike. In some embodiments, WMS 119 may receive check-in and check-outinformation from a timekeeping system, such as a timekeeping systemoperated on a device 119A-119C.

3^(rd) party fulfillment (3PL) systems 121A-121C, in some embodiments,represent computer systems associated with third-party providers oflogistics and products. For example, while some products are stored infulfillment center 200 (as discussed below with respect to FIG. 2),other products may be stored off-site, may be produced on demand, or maybe otherwise unavailable for storage in fulfillment center 200. 3PLsystems 121A-121C may be configured to receive orders from FO system 113(e.g., through FMG 115) and may provide products and/or services (e.g.,delivery or installation) to customers directly. In some embodiments,one or more of 3PL systems 121A-121C may be part of system 100, while inother embodiments, one or more of 3PL systems 121A-121C may be outsideof system 100 (e.g., owned or operated by a third-party provider).

Fulfillment Center Auth system (FC Auth) 123, in some embodiments, maybe implemented as a computer system with a variety of functions. Forexample, in some embodiments, FC Auth 123 may act as a single-sign on(SSO) service for one or more other systems in system 100. For example,FC Auth 123 may enable a user to log in via internal front end system105, determine that the user has similar privileges to access resourcesat shipment and order tracking system 111, and enable the user to accessthose privileges without requiring a second log in process. FC Auth 123,in other embodiments, may enable users (e.g., employees) to associatethemselves with a particular task. For example, some employees may nothave an electronic device (such as devices 119A-119C) and may insteadmove from task to task, and zone to zone, within a fulfillment center200, during the course of a day. FC Auth 123 may be configured to enablethose employees to indicate what task they are performing and what zonethey are in at different times of day.

Labor management system (LMS) 125, in some embodiments, may beimplemented as a computer system that stores attendance and overtimeinformation for employees (including full-time and part-time employees).For example, LMS 125 may receive information from FC Auth 123, WMS 119,devices 119A-119C, transportation system 107, and/or devices 107A-107C.

The particular configuration depicted in FIG. 1A is an example only. Forexample, while FIG. 1A depicts FC Auth system 123 connected to FO system113, not all embodiments require this particular configuration. Indeed,in some embodiments, the systems in system 100 may be connected to oneanother through one or more public or private networks, including theInternet, an Intranet, a WAN (Wide-Area Network), a MAN(Metropolitan-Area Network), a wireless network compliant with the IEEE802.11a/b/g/n Standards, a leased line, or the like. In someembodiments, one or more of the systems in system 100 may be implementedas one or more virtual servers implemented at a data center, serverfarm, or the like.

FIG. 2 depicts a fulfillment center 200. Fulfillment center 200 is anexample of a physical location that stores items for shipping tocustomers when ordered. Fulfillment center (FC) 200 may be divided intomultiple zones, each of which are depicted in FIG. 2. These “zones,” insome embodiments, may be thought of as virtual divisions betweendifferent stages of a process of receiving items, storing the items,retrieving the items, and shipping the items. So while the “zones” aredepicted in FIG. 2, other divisions of zones are possible, and the zonesin FIG. 2 may be omitted, duplicated, or modified in some embodiments.

Inbound zone 203 represents an area of FC 200 where items are receivedfrom sellers who wish to sell products using system 100 from FIG. 1A.For example, a seller may deliver items 202A and 202B using truck 201.Item 202A may represent a single item large enough to occupy its ownshipping pallet, while item 202B may represent a set of items that arestacked together on the same pallet to save space.

A worker will receive the items in inbound zone 203 and may optionallycheck the items for damage and correctness using a computer system (notpictured). For example, the worker may use a computer system to comparethe quantity of items 202A and 202B to an ordered quantity of items. Ifthe quantity does not match, that worker may refuse one or more of items202A or 202B. If the quantity does match, the worker may move thoseitems (using, e.g., a dolly, a handtruck, a forklift, or manually) tobuffer zone 205. Buffer zone 205 may be a temporary storage area foritems that are not currently needed in the picking zone, for example,because there is a high enough quantity of that item in the picking zoneto satisfy forecasted demand. In some embodiments, forklifts 206 operateto move items around buffer zone 205 and between inbound zone 203 anddrop zone 207. If there is a need for items 202A or 202B in the pickingzone (e.g., because of forecasted demand), a forklift may move items202A or 202B to drop zone 207.

Drop zone 207 may be an area of FC 200 that stores items before they aremoved to picking zone 209. A worker assigned to the picking task (a“picker”) may approach items 202A and 202B in the picking zone, scan abarcode for the picking zone, and scan barcodes associated with items202A and 202B using a mobile device (e.g., device 119B). The picker maythen take the item to picking zone 209 (e.g., by placing it on a cart orcarrying it).

Picking zone 209 may be an area of FC 200 where items 208 are stored onstorage units 210. In some embodiments, storage units 210 may compriseone or more of physical shelving, bookshelves, boxes, totes,refrigerators, freezers, cold stores, or the like. In some embodiments,picking zone 209 may be organized into multiple floors. In someembodiments, workers or machines may move items into picking zone 209 inmultiple ways, including, for example, a forklift, an elevator, aconveyor belt, a cart, a handtruck, a dolly, an automated robot ordevice, or manually. For example, a picker may place items 202A and 202Bon a handtruck or cart in drop zone 207 and walk items 202A and 202B topicking zone 209.

A picker may receive an instruction to place (or “stow”) the items inparticular spots in picking zone 209, such as a particular space on astorage unit 210. For example, a picker may scan item 202A using amobile device (e.g., device 119B). The device may indicate where thepicker should stow item 202A, for example, using a system that indicatean aisle, shelf, and location. The device may then prompt the picker toscan a barcode at that location before stowing item 202A in thatlocation. The device may send (e.g., via a wireless network) data to acomputer system such as WMS 119 in FIG. 1A indicating that item 202A hasbeen stowed at the location by the user using device 1196.

Once a user places an order, a picker may receive an instruction ondevice 1196 to retrieve one or more items 208 from storage unit 210. Thepicker may retrieve item 208, scan a barcode on item 208, and place iton transport mechanism 214. While transport mechanism 214 is representedas a slide, in some embodiments, transport mechanism may be implementedas one or more of a conveyor belt, an elevator, a cart, a forklift, ahandtruck, a dolly, or the like. Item 208 may then arrive at packingzone 211.

Packing zone 211 may be an area of FC 200 where items are received frompicking zone 209 and packed into boxes or bags for eventual shipping tocustomers. In packing zone 211, a worker assigned to receiving items (a“rebin worker”) will receive item 208 from picking zone 209 anddetermine what order it corresponds to. For example, the rebin workermay use a device, such as computer 119C, to scan a barcode on item 208.Computer 119C may indicate visually which order item 208 is associatedwith. This may include, for example, a space or “cell” on a wall 216that corresponds to an order. Once the order is complete (e.g., becausethe cell contains all items for the order), the rebin worker mayindicate to a packing worker (or “packer”) that the order is complete.The packer may retrieve the items from the cell and place them in a boxor bag for shipping. The packer may then send the box or bag to a hubzone 213, e.g., via forklift, cart, dolly, handtruck, conveyor belt,manually, or otherwise.

Hub zone 213 may be an area of FC 200 that receives all boxes or bags(“packages”) from packing zone 211. Workers and/or machines in hub zone213 may retrieve package 218 and determine which portion of a deliveryarea each package is intended to go to, and route the package to anappropriate camp zone 215. For example, if the delivery area has twosmaller sub-areas, packages will go to one of two camp zones 215. Insome embodiments, a worker or machine may scan a package (e.g., usingone of devices 119A-119C) to determine its eventual destination. Routingthe package to camp zone 215 may comprise, for example, determining aportion of a geographical area that the package is destined for (e.g.,based on a postal code) and determining a camp zone 215 associated withthe portion of the geographical area.

Camp zone 215, in some embodiments, may comprise one or more buildings,one or more physical spaces, or one or more areas, where packages arereceived from hub zone 213 for sorting into routes and/or sub-routes. Insome embodiments, camp zone 215 is physically separate from FC 200 whilein other embodiments camp zone 215 may form a part of FC 200.

Workers and/or machines in camp zone 215 may determine which routeand/or sub-route a package 220 should be associated with, for example,based on a comparison of the destination to an existing route and/orsub-route, a calculation of workload for each route and/or sub-route,the time of day, a shipping method, the cost to ship the package 220, aPDD associated with the items in package 220, or the like. In someembodiments, a worker or machine may scan a package (e.g., using one ofdevices 119A-119C) to determine its eventual destination. Once package220 is assigned to a particular route and/or sub-route, a worker and/ormachine may move package 220 to be shipped. In exemplary FIG. 2, campzone 215 includes a truck 222, a car 226, and delivery workers 224A and224B. In some embodiments, truck 222 may be driven by delivery worker224A, where delivery worker 224A is a full-time employee that deliverspackages for FC 200 and truck 222 is owned, leased, or operated by thesame company that owns, leases, or operates FC 200. In some embodiments,car 226 may be driven by delivery worker 224B, where delivery worker224B is a “flex” or occasional worker that is delivering on an as-neededbasis (e.g., seasonally). Car 226 may be owned, leased, or operated bydelivery worker 2246.

FIG. 3 illustrates an outline of a main process 300 for assigning itemsto pickers. In step 302, FO system 113 begins with receiving anindication of a purchase of an item, such as an order comprising atleast one item. The indication may be received from External Front EndSystem 103, for instance. In some embodiments, the indication may beprovided directly from a customer device. The order may constitute avariety of items and quantities distributed in a warehouse, plurality ofwarehouses, or other storage sites. In some situations, an item maycomprise a quantity of a bulk good that requires a picker to visitmultiple sites to obtain the requested quantity. For example, an ordermay require 1,000 lbs of corn, while each of a plurality of storagesites only contain 300 lbs of corn. Similarly, an item may requiremultiple, separately stored pieces, such as a bicycle having a frame andtires stored in different locations in a warehouse. Thus, process 300may help assign an item requiring multiple stops, as well as individualitems requiring a single stop by a picker. Process 300 may also assignmultiple pickers to items requiring multiple stops, thereby distributingthe picking operation and speeding package preparation.

At step 304, FO system 113 determines a priority of the item. A customermay assign a priority to an order at the time of purchase, for instance,by electing to pay an additional charge for quicker delivery. A businessmay also assign a priority to an item by customer priority such as apremier plan membership, item perishability, picker availability,special handling requirements for an item including weight and sizelimitations or special equipment needs, transportation regulations,traffic, tolls, and other shipping cost considerations. In someembodiments, FO system 113 may determine priority based on an amount oftime remaining until a required shipping time of the item, for instance,to meet a delivery time promised to a customer at the time of purchase.Items may have high fidelity priorities, such that an item with 65minutes until shipping has a higher priority than an item with 69minutes until shipping. Alternatively, items may be categorized asurgent, such as items with less than 30 minutes until shipping, normal,such as items with more than 30 minutes and less than 90 minutes untilshipping, and low, such as items with more than 90 minutes untilshipping.

At step 306, FO system 113 inserts the item into a position of anordered data structure based on the priority of the item. For example,an identifier of the item may be placed into a position in a list or atuple such that items with a higher priority remain at their respectiveranks while items with a lower priority are shifted down a rank. In someembodiments, FO system 113 may use a JSON file or dictionary that doesnot have a reliably consistent order. In these situations, FO system 113may introduce order into the data structure by creating a field in theJSON file indicating the item's rank. FO system 113 may update eachitem's rank field in the JSON file if an item with a higher priority isintroduced. Alternatively, in embodiments where priority categories areused, FO system 113 may store an item in a JSON file, SQL database,spreadsheet file (e.g., Microsoft Excel file), comma separated valuefile, and the like with a corresponding field representing the item'spriority category.

At step 308, FO system 113 begins analyzing purchased items and pickersin order to assign items to pickers. In step 308, FO system 113determines an item physical location corresponding to a first unassigneditem in the ordered data structure. FO system 113 may determine thefirst unassigned item by selecting the item with the highest priority inthe ordered data structure. If the data structure is a JSON file, FOsystem 113 may create a sub-dictionary containing all items with anempty assigned picker field, followed by determining which of the itemsin the sub-dictionary has highest priority. If priority categories areused instead, FO system 113 may randomly select an item tagged with thehighest priority category, or may further prioritize items within apriority category based on price or weight, for instance. To determinethe item physical location corresponding to the first unassigned item,FO system 113 may look up the item in a separate database or datastructure and retrieve the stored physical location associated with theitem. The physical location may be a street address or a warehouseshelf, for instance.

At step 310, FO system 113 determines a plurality of picker physicallocations corresponding to locations of user devices of pickers. Forexample, the user device of a picker may be device 1198. Each picker ona warehouse floor may carry a separate device. Devices may includehardware and/or software to determine the location's position. Devicesmay determine and periodically report their respective locations to FOsystem 113, such as using a WiFi or cellular signal to report thedevice's position as determined by a GPS receiver in the device. In someembodiments, devices may determine locations by measuring a signalstrength, such as WiFi, and triangulating the device location based on aplurality of WiFi signals. Alternatively or additionally, FO system 113may determine or request locations of devices. For instance, a warehousemay also have other sensors, such as IR sensors, which receive IRsignals from user devices signaling an identification code, or RFIDsensors that register the presence of an RFID tag disposed on a userdevice. A warehouse may also contain cameras to visually identify andlocate pickers and/or their associated devices, carts, and packages.Visual identification may be aided by identifying images, such as a QRcode, facial recognition, and the like. FO system 113 may correlatethese codes in a database to a device and corresponding user.

At step 312, FO system 113 calculates a plurality of distances betweenthe item physical location and picker physical locations among theplurality of picker physical locations. In other words, after step 310,FO system 113 may have a data structure containing locations of each ofthe pickers in a warehouse, for instance. FO system 113 then cyclesthrough each of the locations and calculates a distance between anunassigned item and pickers.

After step 312, FO system 113 may store a data structure havingdistances between each of the pickers and the unassigned item. In someembodiments, the distance may be a direct line between the item and apicker, ignoring any intervening obstacles. Alternatively, each of theplurality of distances may comprise a total length of a path between acorresponding picker physical location and the item physical location,the path being selected so as to avoid obstacles between thecorresponding picker physical location and the item physical location.Distances may also be measured as the amount of time required to travelbetween two points, rather than the geometric length of a path. That is,FO system 113 may employ algorithms to determine the shortest route andexpected travel time between two points while traveling around anyobstacles such as shelves, containers, pillars, walls, or doors asreflected in a stored map of a warehouse. FO system 113 may also employalgorithms that take into account distances between floors, such as in amulti-story warehouse. In some embodiments, FO system 113 may provideinstructions to pickers who must travel through an area. In theseembodiments, FO system 113 may determine the shortest path alonghighways and surface streets, as well as distances for parking, walking,or other modes of transportation.

Algorithms that determine optimal paths through obstacles may becomputationally expensive and slow. Therefore, in some embodiments, FOsystem 113 may perform a preliminary step of determining a direct radialdistance between pickers and the unassigned item before determiningoptimal paths. FO system 113 may then skip any pickers outside of athreshold radius when determining optimal paths around obstacles,potentially shortening processing time. For example, FO system 113 maydetermine that out of ten possible pickers, three are outside of a 200foot radius of an unassigned item. FO system 113 may then calculateoptimal paths for the remaining seven pickers, avoiding lostcomputational time spent calculating optimal paths for pickers that aretoo far away. In this way, the plurality of picker physical locationsmay consist of picker physical locations within a threshold radius ofthe item physical location.

Using the data structure having distances between each of the pickersand the unassigned item may be sortable or searchable, such that FOsystem 113 is able to begin assigning the first unassigned item byidentifying a closest picker corresponding to a shortest distance of theplurality of distances at step 314. The closest picker may be the pickerhaving the shortest travel time or shortest travel duration.

FO system 113 may then select the identified picker at step 316, andcorrelate the first unassigned item with the selected picker in a datastructure at step 318. In some embodiments, the data structure of step318 may be a separate dictionary, JSON file, or the like containing anitem identifier correlated to a picker identifier. Alternatively, step318 may comprise updating a field in the ordered data structure. Forexample, when a new item is inserted into the ordered data structure atstep 307, FO system 113 may include a field for the new item that FOsystem 113 later populates with a picker identifier at step 318.

In some embodiments, the data structure of step 318 may be indexed bypicker identifier, such that a picker identifier is correlated to anitem queue assigned to the picker, with the order indicating the orderin which the picker should locate the items. The first unassigned itemmay be inserted into an item queue based on a priority of the firstunassigned item. For example, a picker may have an item queue containingten normal priority items. The picker may be the closest of all pickersto an urgent item. FO system 113 may then enter the urgent item into thefirst position in the item queue of the picker, and shift the other tenitems with normal priority. In some situations, changing a picker'sdestination before the picker finds the item may introduce delays. Forexample, a picker may be climbing stairs to obtain a normal priorityitem on an upper floor of a warehouse. Even though the picker may beclosest to an urgent priority item on a lower floor, assigning theurgent priority item to the picker may cause the picker to descend thestairs, deliver the urgent item, and then reclimb stairs to obtain thenormal priority item. Therefore, in some embodiments, FO system 113 mayleave some portion of item queues unchanged, and only insert new itemsinto an item queue after, for instance, the second item in the queue.

At step 320, FO system 113 sends information including an identifier ofthe item and a physical location of the item to the user device of theselected picker for display. The information may also include a mapand/or directions for the picker. At step 322, FO system 113 maydetermine if there are any remaining unassigned items. If step 322 isYES, FO system 113 returns to step 308 and begins assigning anadditional item. This may continue in an iterative fashion for items inthe ordered data structure until all items are assigned to pickers. Ifstep 322 is NO, FO system 113 may return to step 302 and wait for anadditional indication of a purchase of an item. Steps 302 through 306may operate in parallel with steps 308 through 322 so that FO system 113continues to receive new purchases while simultaneously assigning items.

The process by which FO system 113 assigns items to pickers may befurther understood by reference to FIG. 4 showing a flow chart ofsubroutine 400 for assigning items to pickers based on picker locationand existing assignments, consistent with the disclosed embodiments.Elements of subroutine 400 may be incorporated into process 300 and mayfurther optimize assignments, for instance, in conjunction with step 316of process 300.

Subroutine 400 may be applied to a set of pickers, such as every activepicker at a particular time, and may iteratively analyze each picker.Starting at step 402, FO system 113 may choose a picker from the set.Selection may be random, alphabetical, by picker identifier order, andthe like. FO system 113 then determines if the picker is within a radiusthreshold, such as within 200 feet of an unassigned item currently beingassigned. If the picker is outside of the radius threshold, step 404 isNO, and FO system returns to step 402 to choose a different picker. Ifthe picker is inside the radius threshold, step 404 is YES, and FOsystem may then invest additional computational resources to furtherconsider the picker at step 406.

At step 406, FO system 113 calculates a route from the picker's locationto the item as previously described. At step 408, FO system 113 comparesthe calculated route to the shortest calculated route. The comparisonmay be based on distance or predicted travel time. If there is anotherroute corresponding to another picker that is shorter than the currentroute, step 408 is YES, and FO system 113 chooses a new picker at step402. On the other hand, if the current route is the shortest route sofar calculated, including if the current route is the first routecalculated, step 408 is NO, and FO system 113 proceeds to step 410.

At step 410, FO system 113 determines if the item queue of the pickerhaving the shortest calculated route so far is full. That is, FO system113 may have a threshold limit of the number of items in an item queue.The threshold limit may be constant for every picker. Alternatively, thethreshold limit may vary for different pickers. For instance, somepickers may be able to move more quickly through a warehouse, or mayreceive more compensation for agreeing to pick more items during ashift. If the item queue of the picker is full, step 410 is YES, and FOsystem 113 returns to step 402 to choose a new picker. If step 410 isNO, FO system 113 stores an identifier of the picker in memory at step412, as well as the calculated route length corresponding to the picker.Thus, in some situations, FO system 113 may choose a next picker if alength of an item queue of the closest picker exceeds a threshold, evenif the route length of the next picker is longer.

At step 414, FO system 113 determines if there are any pickers that havenot yet been analyzed. If there are more remaining pickers, step 414 isYES, and FO system 113 returns to step 402. If there are no moreremaining pickers, step 414 is NO, and FO system 113 proceeds to step416. In this way, after step 414 is NO, FO system 113 will have analyzedeach of the pickers and determined a picker having a shortest distanceto the item, and having an item queue with room to accept an additionalitem.

However, in some cases, the closest picker may nonetheless be far fromthe item. Assigning the item to this picker may cause a delay in pickingother items. Therefore, in some embodiments, FO system 113 may ensurethat assignments only occur if a picker is within a certain distance ofthe item. At step 416, FO system 113 determines if the route of thepicker having the shortest route is less than a threshold. If the routeis not less than the threshold, step 416 is NO, and FO system 113 waitsfor a period of time at step 418. FO system 113 may then return to step402 and reidentify a closest picker after the period of time expires.During the wait period 418, pickers may move closer to the item in theprocess of picking other items. Thus, when FO system 113 re-analyzespickers, FO system 113 may identify a picker that has moved within thethreshold distance of the item, thereby reducing unproductive transittime. On the other hand, if the shortest distance is less than thethreshold, step 416 is YES, and FO system 113 identifies a closestpicker corresponding to a shortest distance of the plurality ofdistances and assigns the item to the picker's item queue at step 420.In some embodiments, items in the ordered data structure may beperiodically reassigned to new pickers based on updated picker physicallocations.

In some situations, though, a business may prioritize ensuring deliverybe a promised time, rather than reducing lost transit time. Therefore,the distance threshold of subroutine 400 may be based on the priority ofthe item. For example, a business may have a rule that a picker shouldtravel less than 200 feet for a normal priority item because longerdistances may result in pickers passing other items that need to bepicked, reducing efficiency. However, the business may allow a picker totravel up to 500 feet for urgent priority items, rather than waiting fora picker to come closer in the course of picking other items, to ensuretimely delivery.

The effects of process 300 and subroutine 400 may be further understoodby reference to FIG. 5A showing diagrammatic illustration of an initialassignment of items to corresponding pickers, consistent with thedisclosed embodiments, as well as FIG. 5B showing a diagrammaticillustration of a revised assignment of items to corresponding pickers,consistent with the disclosed embodiments.

In FIG. 5A, an exemplary data structure 502A records a list of itemsincluding a rank, an item ID, and a promised shipping time. For example,item 2 has ID B6438 and needs to be shipped by 11:15. Pickers 510A,512A, and 514A, carrying user devices 510B, 512B, and 514B, work inwarehouse 506. Warehouse 506 contains shelves 508. Warehouse 506 alsocontains the five items included in data structure 502A, havinglocations in warehouse 506 illustrated as 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.

As shown in FIG. 5A, items have been assigned to pickers 510A, 512A, and514A. The items are displayed on user devices 510B, 512B, and 514B. Forinstance, picker 512A carries user device 512B which displays thenumbers 2 and 3, indicating that picker 512A has been assigned to pickitems 2 and 3.

Further, FIG. 5A shows a new indication of a purchased item 504. Newindication 504 contains an item ID of X5795 and a shipment time of11:07.

FIG. 5B illustrates how FO system 113 incorporates new indication 504into data structure 502A, as well as assigning the item of newindication 504 to a picker. Data structure 502B has been changed to nowinclude item X5795. Because the shipment time of item X5795 is 11:07,item X5795 has been inserted into data structure 502B as item number 2,placing it after item number 1 with shipment time of 11:04, and beforeitems 3-6 having shipment times from 11:15 through 12:45, and havingpreviously been recorded in data structure 502A as items 2-5. Itemlocations in warehouse 506 have also been updated to show the reordereditems.

As shown in FIG. 5B, item 2, corresponding to the item from newindication 504, is located close to picker 510A. Therefore, picker 510Ahas been assigned items 2 and 1, indicated on user device 510B. Item 6,which was formerly item 5, is no longer displayed on user device 510B asitem 6 has a longer time until shipment than item 2. Meanwhile, item 5,which was formerly item 4, remains assigned to picker 514A, and items 3and 4, which were formerly items 2 and 3, remain assigned to picker512B.

Item 6 may remain on an undisplayed portion of the item queue of picker510A. If the item queue threshold is set to two, such that a picker'sitem queue may only have two items, item 6 may be transferred to theitem queue of picker 514A, being the closest picker with an open itemqueue slot. Alternatively, item 6 may remain unassigned until pickersremove items from their queues by indicating that they have picked theitems, until another picker moves closer, or until it has a higher rankin the ordered data structure 502B.

Thus, as shown items may be reassigned based on new items andcorresponding priorities, as well as reassigned based on new pickerlocations. Further, although FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate changing thefirst two items in a picker queue, in some embodiments, the firstportion of an item queue may remain static until a picker retrievesitems in the first portion of the item queue.

In some situations, a new picker may enter a picking area, such as whenthe picker's shift begins or after a break. FO system 113 may initializethe new picker with items in order to relieve other pickers and speedpicking of pending items. FIG. 6A, showing a diagram of item and pickerlocations, and FIG. 6B, showing initial picker assignments, illustrateprocesses by which FO system 113 may initialize the new picker.

After FO system 113 receives an indication that a new picker exists, FOsystem 113 may define a plurality of regions of a facility. Forinstance, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, a warehouse may be divided intofour quadrants, 602, 604, 606, and 608. Pickers and items aredistributed among the quadrants. In some embodiments, a region, such asa geographical area, may be divided.

For each region, FO system 113 determines the number of items and thenumber of pickers in the region. FO system 113 may determine the numberof items by accessing the ordered data structure, and may determine thenumber of pickers by accessing a data structure or actively pinging orlocating devices associated with the pickers, as described above. Forexample, in FIG. 6A, region 604 has one picker and three items, whileregion 602 has zero pickers and one item. FO system 113 may thendetermine a ratio of items to pickers located in each region. Thus,region 604 has a ratio of 3:1, region 606 has a ratio of 1:1, and region608 has a ratio of 1:1. FO system 113 may ignore regions having zeropickers, or may record regions having zero pickers as having anartificial large number indicating a need for pickers in the region,such as 1,000,000. FO system 113 then selects the region having thehighest ratio. Thus, in FIG. 6A, FO system 113 would determine thatregion 602 has the highest ratio.

Accordingly, FO system 113 selects region 602 as requiring a picker, andFO system 113 selects an initializing item located in a region having ahighest ratio. FO system 113 may then send sending information includingan identifier of the initializing item and a physical location of theinitializing item to a user device of the new picker for display. Thus,as shown in FIG. 6B, the new picker is assigned to pick item 3 of region602.

As an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, acomputer-implemented method for assigning items to pickers may comprisethe following steps. FO system 113 may receive an indication of apurchase of an item, determine a priority of the item, and insert theitem into a position of an ordered data structure of items based on thepriority of the item. The priority of the item may be categorical orsequential.

FO system 113 may iteratively, for items in the ordered data structure,determine an item physical location corresponding to a first unassigneditem in the ordered data structure. FO system 113 may also determine aplurality of picker physical locations corresponding to locations ofuser devices of pickers; calculate a plurality of distances between theitem physical location and picker physical locations among the pluralityof picker physical locations; and calculate a plurality of routes, eachroute being calculated for each picker physical location within adistance threshold of the item physical location, and calculated toavoid obstacles. For example, FO system 113 may ignore pickers outsideof a 500 foot distance of the item physical location.

FO system 113 may then proceed to assigning items to pickers byidentifying a closest picker corresponding to a shortest route of theplurality of routes. FO system 113 may then determine that a quantity ofitems in an item queue of the closest picker exceeds a threshold; andproceed to identify a second closest picker corresponding to a secondshortest distance of the plurality of distances. When the second closestpicker is identified, FO system 113 inserts the first unassigned iteminto an item queue of the second closest picker, and sends informationincluding an identifier of the item and a physical location of the itemto the user device of the second closest picker for display.

Process 300 and subroutine 400 are not limited to the specific set ofsteps and may comprise modifications, omissions and/or combinations ofthe core algorithm steps optimized to fit specifics of each subroutine.

While the present disclosure has been shown and described with referenceto particular embodiments thereof, it will be understood that thepresent disclosure can be practiced, without modification, in otherenvironments. The foregoing description has been presented for purposesof illustration. It is not exhaustive and is not limited to the preciseforms or embodiments disclosed. Modifications and adaptations will beapparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of thespecification and practice of the disclosed embodiments. Additionally,although aspects of the disclosed embodiments are described as beingstored in memory, one skilled in the art will appreciate that theseaspects can also be stored on other types of computer readable media,such as secondary storage devices, for example, hard disks or CD ROM, orother forms of RAM or ROM, USB media, DVD, Blu-ray, or other opticaldrive media.

Computer programs based on the written description and disclosed methodsare within the skill of an experienced developer. Various programs orprogram modules can be created using any of the techniques known to oneskilled in the art or can be designed in connection with existingsoftware. For example, program sections or program modules can bedesigned in or by means of .Net Framework, .Net Compact Framework (andrelated languages, such as Visual Basic, C, etc.), Java, C++,Objective-C, HTML, HTML/AJAX combinations, XML, or HTML with includedJava applets.

Moreover, while illustrative embodiments have been described herein, thescope of any and all embodiments having equivalent elements,modifications, omissions, combinations (e.g., of aspects across variousembodiments), adaptations and/or alterations as would be appreciated bythose skilled in the art based on the present disclosure. Thelimitations in the claims are to be interpreted broadly based on thelanguage employed in the claims and not limited to examples described inthe present specification or during the prosecution of the application.The examples are to be construed as non-exclusive. Furthermore, thesteps of the disclosed methods may be modified in any manner, includingby reordering steps and/or inserting or deleting steps. It is intended,therefore, that the specification and examples be considered asillustrative only, with a true scope and spirit being indicated by thefollowing claims and their full scope of equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computerized system for assigning items topickers, comprising: at least one processor; at least one IR sensor; andat least one non transitory storage medium comprising instructions that,when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least oneprocessor to perform steps comprising: receiving an indication of apurchase of an item; determining a priority of the item; inserting theitem into a position of an ordered data structure based on the priorityof the item; iteratively, for items in the ordered data structure:determining an item physical location corresponding to a firstunassigned item in the ordered data structure; receiving, by the atleast one IR sensor, IR signals from user devices; determining aplurality of picker physical locations corresponding to locations ofuser devices of pickers based on the received IR signals; calculating aplurality of distances between the item physical location and pickerphysical locations among the plurality of picker physical locations;assigning the first unassigned item by: identifying a closest pickercorresponding to a shortest distance of the plurality of distances;selecting the identified picker; correlating the first unassigned itemwith the selected picker in a data structure; sending informationincluding an identifier of the item and a physical location of the itemto the user device of the selected picker for display; receiving anindication that a new picker exists; defining a plurality of regions ofa facility; and iteratively, for each region: determining a ratio ofnumber of items in the ordered data structure located in the region to anumber of pickers located in the region; selecting an initializing itemlocated in a region having a highest ratio; and sending informationincluding an identifier of the initializing item and a physical locationof the initializing item to a user device of the new picker for display.2. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of distancescomprises a total length of a path between a corresponding pickerphysical location and the item physical location, the path beingselected so as to avoid obstacles between the corresponding pickerphysical location and the item physical location.
 3. The system of claim2, wherein the plurality of picker physical locations consists of pickerphysical locations within a threshold radius of the item physicallocation.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein assigning the firstunassigned item further comprises: selecting a next picker if a lengthof an item queue of the closest picker exceeds a threshold.
 5. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the first unassigned item is inserted into anitem queue based on a priority of the first unassigned item.
 6. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the priority of the item is based on anamount of time remaining until a required shipping time of the item. 7.The system of claim 1, wherein assigning the first unassigned itemfurther comprises: identifying a closest picker corresponding to ashortest distance of the plurality of distances when the shortestdistance is less than a threshold; waiting a period of time when theshortest distance is greater than the threshold; reidentifying a closestpicker after the period of time expires.
 8. The system of claim 7,wherein the threshold is based on the priority of the first item.
 9. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the items in the ordered data structure areperiodically reassigned to new pickers based on updated picker physicallocations.
 10. A computer-implemented method for assigning items topickers, comprising: transmitting at least one WiFi signal; receiving atleast one indication of a strength of the at least one transmitted WiFisignal; receiving an indication of a purchase of an item; determining apriority of the item; inserting the item into a position of an ordereddata structure based on the priority of the item; iteratively, for itemsin the ordered data structure: determining an item physical locationcorresponding to a first unassigned item in the ordered data structure;determining a plurality of picker physical locations corresponding tolocations of user devices of pickers by triangulating locations ofdevices based on the received at least one indication of the strength ofthe at least one transmitted WiFi signal; calculating a plurality ofdistances between the item physical location and picker physicallocations among the plurality of picker physical locations; assigningthe first unassigned item by: identifying a closest picker correspondingto a shortest distance of the plurality of distances; selecting theidentified picker; correlating the first unassigned item with theselected picker in a data structure; sending information including anidentifier of the item and a physical location of the item to the userdevice of the selected picker for display; identifying a closest pickercorresponding to a shortest distance of the plurality of distances whenthe shortest distance is less than a distance threshold, the distancethreshold being based on the priority of the first item; waiting aperiod of time when the shortest distance is greater than the distancethreshold; and reidentifying a closest picker after the period of timeexpires.
 11. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein eachof the plurality of distances comprises a total length of a path betweena corresponding picker physical location and the item physical location,the path being selected so as to avoid obstacles between thecorresponding picker physical location and the item physical location.12. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein the pluralityof picker physical locations consists of picker physical locationswithin a threshold radius of the item physical location.
 13. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein assigning the firstunassigned item further comprises: selecting a next picker if a lengthof an item queue of the closest picker exceeds a threshold.
 14. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein the first unassigneditem is inserted into an item queue based on a priority of the firstunassigned item.
 15. The computer-implemented method of claim 10,wherein the priority of the item is based on an amount of time remaininguntil a required shipping time of the item.
 16. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 10, wherein the steps further comprise: receiving anindication that a new picker exists; defining a plurality of regions ofa facility; iteratively, for each region: determining a ratio of numberof items in the ordered data structure located in the region to a numberof pickers located in the region; selecting an initializing item locatedin a region having a highest ratio; sending information including anidentifier of the initializing item and a physical location of theinitializing item to a user device of the new picker for display.
 17. Acomputer-implemented method for assigning items to pickers, comprising:transmitting at least one WiFi signal; receiving at least one indicationof a strength of the at least one transmitted WiFi signal; receiving anindication of a purchase of an item; determining a priority of the item;inserting the item into a position of an ordered data structure of itemsbased on the priority of the item; iteratively, for items in the ordereddata structure: determining an item physical location corresponding to afirst unassigned item in the ordered data structure; determining aplurality of picker physical locations corresponding to locations ofuser devices of pickers by triangulating locations of devices based onthe received at least one indication of the strength of the at least onetransmitted WiFi signal; calculating a plurality of distances betweenthe item physical location and picker physical locations among theplurality of picker physical locations; calculating a plurality ofroutes, each route being calculated for each picker physical locationwithin a distance threshold of the item physical location, the distancethreshold being based on the priority of the first unassigned item, andcalculated to avoid obstacles; assigning the first unassigned item by:identifying a closest picker corresponding to a shortest route of theplurality of routes; determining that a quantity of items in an itemqueue of the closest picker exceeds a threshold; identifying a secondclosest picker corresponding to a second shortest distance of theplurality of distances; inserting the first unassigned item into an itemqueue of the second closest picker; sending information including anidentifier of the item and a physical location of the item to the userdevice of the second closest picker for display.